MILWAUKEE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Four victims are still in a Milwaukee burn center after the Friday night bonfire explosion.
The parents of some of the teens are waiting by their side, including Bruce and Tammy Brzeczkowski.
Not even a week ago, 18-year-old Brandon Brzeczkowski was working his construction job and spending time outdoors.
Now, he lies in the St. Mary’s Regional Burn Center in Milwaukee with a breathing and feeding tube as he heals from severe burns.
“It’s a living nightmare, that’s for sure,” said Brandon’s father, Bruce.
His parents tell FOX 11 it’s hard on them and their two other sons to see Brandon like this.
“And the boys are really close, but, yeah, one of the things that Josh mentioned was — well, he mentioned that he wished he could take his spot,” said Tammy.
The Brzeczkowskis say Brandon was more alert on Tuesday.
He can’t speak to them, but he can gesture and scribble on a notepad.
The first thing he wrote to his parents was, “I wanna go home.”
“That broke our heart,” said the Brzeczkowskis.
“How are you feeling as parents?” asked FOX 11.
“Well, it definitely threw our lives upside down — no question,” said the Brzeczkowskis.
Tammy says the community support, through well-wishes and donations, has been overwhelming.
“There’s no way we can ever repay anyone for what they’ve done — because they are helping us get through this.”
“Does it surprise you at all that the Pulaski community is responding like this?” asked FOX 11.
“No, usually we’re on the other end of this. Pulaski is really special — that is the kind of community that we have.”.
The Brzeczkowskis are trying to stay positive and so are the other families.
Tammy says one of the other boys in the burn unit, Issac Nelson, made sure to say ,”Hey, Brandon” as he went into surgery.
“They know they are here together, and at least they have that too. They have something in common now,” said Tammy.
“What’s a message you can give to folks?” asked FOX 11.
“Keep the prayers coming and the messages, and pray for everyone here — for all of the families that are here. Keep praying because we need that support,” said the Brzeczkowskis.
The Brzeczkowskis hope their fun-loving boy can make it home for Thanksgiving.
UPDATE: Here’s an update on the Pulaski Bonfire Incident from the Shawano County Sheriff’s Office.
This is an update to the ongoing investigation of the Pulaski Bonfire Incident as the Shawano County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate this matter. At this point, we have been able to identify approximately 60 named individuals who were at this party/bonfire. We have been able to meet with approximately 20 of those individuals, and have obtained either a verbal or written statement from them.
Based on the statements obtained, we know that the party/bonfire began during the evening hours of October 14th around 6:00pm. The explosion occurred between 10:50pm and 10:55pm. We can confirm the accelerant which was put onto the fire was a gas and diesel fuel mixture. This mixture was contained within a 55-gallon drum container and it is believed the container was approximately one-quarter full. All injured parties were then self-transported to the hospital by other individuals on scene. All injured parties were transported to local hospitals in Green Bay. Our office was then notified by Green Bay Police Department at approximately 1:10am on October 15th. Once we received notification from them, patrol officers were able to contact our detective division to begin this investigation. Of those parties injured, four victims are still hospitalized in burn centers within Wisconsin, some of which remain in critical condition.
The sheriff’s office would like thank those who have come forward to this point to speak to us regarding this incident. We would like to reiterate the fact that our office does not have any intentions on taking action regarding underage drinking. We want to make it clear that we do not condone underage drinking, but based on the totality of this incident, there is a much larger issue our office needs to thoroughly investigate.
Based on the age of all parties involved, our office will not be releasing names of those individuals mentioned to be at this party. Our goal is to protect the identity of those who have come forward, in hopes more are willing to come forward and speak with us. We understand this is an extremely fragile situation, where many individuals who have come forward may be dealing with emotional, mental, and/or physical related matters that will obviously take time to work through.
We would again, like to express our continued condolences to those affected and greatly appreciate the patience from the Pulaski community we have received as they understand this is a very extensive, and lengthy investigation.
Authority,
Chief Deputy George Lenzner
Shawano County Sheriff’s Office
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